Nigali_Sagar_Ashokan_inscription_Budhasa_Konaakamanasa_with_rubbing

Koṇāgamana (

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

), also known as Kanakamuni in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

or alternatively Koṇāgon or Kanakagamana, is one of the ancient

Buddhas In Buddhism, Buddha (; Pali, Sanskrit: 𑀩𑀼𑀤𑁆𑀥, बुद्ध), "awakened one", is a title for those who are awake, and have attained nirvana and Buddhahood through their own efforts and insight, without a teacher to point out ...

whose biography is chronicled in chapter 23 of the '' Buddhavaṃsa'', one of the books of the

Pali Canon The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During ...

Buddhist tradition

According to

Theravāda ''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

tradition, Koṇāgamana is the twenty-sixth of the twenty-nine named Buddhas, the fifth of the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity, and the second of the five Buddhas of the present

kalpa Kalevan Pallo (KalPa) is a professional ice hockey team which competes in the Finnish Liiga. They play in Kuopio, Finland at the Olvi Areena. Team history Established in 1929 as ''Sortavalan Palloseura'' in Sortavala, the club relocated to Kuop ...

. The present kalpa is called the ''bhadrakalpa'' (Auspicious aeon). The five Buddhas of the present kalpa are: # Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) # Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) # Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) #

Gautama Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in Lu ...

(the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) #

Maitreya Maitreya (Sanskrit: ) or Metteyya (Pali: ), also Maitreya Buddha or Metteyya Buddha, is regarded as the future Buddha of this world in Buddhist eschatology. As the 5th and final Buddha of the current kalpa, Maitreya's teachings will be aimed a ...

(the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa) Koṇāgamana is said to have been born in Subhagavati Park in Sobhavati (now known as Araurakot, located about southwest of

Nigalihawa Nigalihawa is a village development committee in Kapilvastu District in the Lumbini Zone of southern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census, it had a population of 7564 people living in 1231 individual households. History Nigalihawa was kn ...

) on Wednesday; because of this Koṇāgamana is placed on the Wednesday pedestal.

Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha

Koṇāgamana is mentioned in a 3rd-century BCE inscription by

Ashoka Ashoka (, ; also ''Asoka''; 304 – 232 BCE), popularly known as Ashoka the Great, was the third emperor of the Maurya Empire of Indian subcontinent during to 232 BCE. His empire covered a large part of the Indian subcontinent, s ...

Nigali Sagar Nigali Sagar (also called Nigliva, Nigali Sagar pillar, Nighihawa pillar, Nigliva pillar, or Araurakot pillar) is an archaeological site in Nepal containing the remains of a pillar of Ashoka. The site is located in Nigalihawa, about 20 kilometers ...

, in today's

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. There is an

Ashoka pillar The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka during his reign from c. 268 to 232 BCE. Ashoka used the express ...

at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in Brahmi is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at

in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar: According to

Xuanzang Xuanzang (, ; 602–664), born Chen Hui / Chen Yi (), also known as Hiuen Tsang, was a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of ...

, Koṇāgamana's relics were held in a stupa in

, in what is now

Kapilvastu District Kapilvastu district ( ne, कपिलवस्तु जिल्ला ), often Kapilbastu, is one of the districts of Lumbini Province, Nepal. The district, with Kapilbastu municipality as its district headquarters, covers an area of and in ...

in southern

Gallery

File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (1).JPG,

Pillar erected by King

to commemorate the birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha.

(inscription on the smaller fragment) File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (2).JPG, Birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal File:Koṇāgamana Buddha Ashoka (3).JPG, Statue commemorating the birthplace of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Nigalihawa, Kapilvastu District, Nepal File:Painting of Konagamana Buddha, Wat Ho Xieng, Luang Prabang.png, Detail of a mural depicting Koṇāgamana Buddha, Wat Ho Xiang,

Luang Prabang Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r ...

Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist s ...

File:বুদ্ধ ধাতু জাদি মন্দির, বান্দরবান ৩.jpg, Statue of Koṇāgamana Buddha. Buddha Dhatu Jadi known as the Bandarban Golden Temple,

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

References

Buddhas {{Buddhist-myth-stub

Buddhist tradition

Historical mentions of the Koṇāgamana Buddha

See also

Gallery

References